Cubs president Theo Epstein has developed (and will distribute) a pamphlet outlining the way he expects players in the organization to behave. Especially those tempted by the Chicago nightlife.

“It’s been a factor in ruining some careers,” Epstein told the Chicago Tribune. “And I’m sure it’s been an impediment to the Cubs in winning. … The approach we’re going to have is the opposite of laissez faire. We’re not just going to say, ‘Oh, that’s the way it is. This is Chicago. Boys will be boys. I’m sure they’re going to get enough sleep and I’m sure they’ll show up the next day ready to play.’ That’s a failure on the organization’s part. We have to take a very proactive approach in setting a high standard.”

The Cubs still play far more day games than any other team in Major League Baseball. And in a city with 4 a.m. liquor licenses, that can mean rough sleep schedules for athletes who like to go out.

“It’s important for young players to recognize that you need to get your sleep,” veteran outfielder Reed Johnsontold the Tribune. “This is your career. This is what you do for a livelihood. You need to treat it that way, especially in our park. You don’t have that extra 10 hours when you wake up in the morning to get ready for that 7 o’clock night game.”

So instead of treating grown-ups like grown-ups and hoping for good decision-making, the new Epstein-led regime is informing players this spring that with a new sheriff comes a new set of expectations.

Oh dear. If you’re going to do the tired “In my day we marched 12 miles through six feet of snow” bit, at least choose an example of a team whose star player didn’t have a premature and miserable death due to liver failure.

Name me a business where another employee making $10m a year will be excused constantly for crappy performance because he/she was out all night three days a week. Not “in my day” but TODAY. They’d be fired immediately.

I’m a bit lost here. First you seem upset that players need the new rules to be held accountable for their actions. Now you seem to be upset that they never have had those rules even though every other business does. I don’t really care one way or the other what your point is. My point was that your example was terrible and self-defeating.

havlicekstoletheball - Mar 4, 2012 at 2:05 PM

Why should you be a bit lost? Players haven’t the self-discipline to take care of themselves, and the bars are to blame? That is like blaming a keyboard for poor writing skills. On top of that, the Players’ Union ensures that no meaningful consequences are in store for the players who misbehave and break the law.

As for the Yankees, even with Mantle’s and Martin’s (and Ford’s) adventures, I noticed the Yankees still managed to win. A lot.

Night life? Hardly the problem.

randygnyc - Mar 4, 2012 at 9:49 AM

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that the towns night life has NOTHING to do with on field performance. They win in NYC, the night life capital of the world. Florida too. With Theo’s reasoning, the Marlin’s would have never won anything and they’d all be coke freaks.

Hmmm….night life can affect on-field performance if the majority of your home games are played at 1, 2 or 3pm instead of 7pm. Common sense says that someone out partying until 3 or 4 am is not going to be playing at their best for an afternoon game compared to a night game!

Theo did such a great job with this in Boston that he is going to take his “responsibility” program to Chicago. It’s almost like he is doing this for himself – to show that if he had his way, there would have been no collapse in Boston.

Theo doesn’t like the bar scene for the Cubbies, but it’s fine to have chicken and beer in the clubhouse. Yes Theo, you were there when the beer and chicken was going on, all you had to do is look at Lackey and you could tell he had half a load on with his pitching performances.

Theo blew it. It’s the chicken that caused all the problems. Beer is good for you.

jason1214 - Mar 4, 2012 at 2:25 PM

I agree Gator.

Alex K - Mar 4, 2012 at 10:22 AM

You seem to imply that Theo is treating the players like children. I don’t think that is the case. I think all he’s saying that there are consequences for not acting responsible that weren’t there before. That is wildly different than treating men like children.

And not that I care about the up/down thing but who gives Casey Stengel a thumbs down? Cmon people…

The Cubs need more than a curfew to raise them from the ashes. The Reds have pushed all their chips in this year, before Brandon and Votto face free agency, and STL and MIL are still strong. Not a super year to start a ChiTown renaissance.

Old Gator - Mar 4, 2012 at 9:51 PM

“And not that I care about the up/down thing but who gives Casey Stengel a thumbs down?”

Estes Kefauver?

paperlions - Mar 4, 2012 at 10:59 AM

If grown ups acted like the idealization of grown ups, we wouldn’t need things like laws or rules and policies for work places…..because, you know….grown ups are all responsible and shit and always make good decisions. Even your typical 40+ year old makes a lot of dumb decisions…when they were the age of most ball players (23-32), decisions that many would classify as irresponsible were a way of life.

All the jokes and snide comments in the world won’t change the fact that the assumption behind this post is correct- the bar scene in Chicago, with the late hours and early starting times have apparently had an adverse effect on a lot of baseball palyers during their time at Wrigley. David Eckersley has a problem with alcohol and it caused him to have a terrible record. Many people aren’t open about drinking problems or even deny they exist and so fans don’t know if there is an underlying cause to their struggles on the field or if they just suck.

To compare this against other teams is like apples vs oranges. No other team plays as many day games as the Cubs. If you don’t realize that then you aren’t a fan.

Maybe, just maybe, the Cubs should move into at least the 20th Century and change their scheduling philosphy and play predominantly night home games. Obviously you can still play some day games on weekends, “get away days” and the occasional “business man’s matinee.” Either that or Theo the Boy Genius can get rid of the “W” and “L” postgame flags and replace them with “Drink” or “Don’t Drink” flags to help the players remember if they have yet another home day game the next day.

The problem isn’t with the teams, archaic philosophies or anything of the sort. The problem is that the stadium sits smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood and it had always been the assumption of the team’s owners – quite the correct one, too – that night games at Wrigley would be highly problematic for the quality of life of the people who live adjacent to the stadium. From that perspective, they’ve struck about as practical a balance as they can short of doming the stadium – which would be as blasphemous as putting a retractable roof on the Vatican.

Don’t overlook the fact that they are restricted by law the number of night games they can play. Ricketts, Epstein and the rest would lover doubling the amount of games.

Old Gator - Mar 4, 2012 at 9:57 PM

As a relict hippie to a fossil hippie, a practicing alcoholic will always find a drink whether the bars are open early and close late or not. A guy leaving the stadium at eleven PM will still find his way to a bar as easily as a guy who leaves at 6 PM, and ballplayers make enough so that they don’t need to depend on happy hour discounts to coddle their booze budgets. Given the kind of money in their pockets, it’s kinda hard to absolve an irresponsible or addicted drinker on the basis of the availability of local bars. If the doors are shut, they’ll pick up their cellphones and call for a delivery.

“So instead of treating grown-ups like grown-ups and hoping for good decision-making, the new Epstein-led regime is informing players this spring that with a new sheriff comes a new set of expectations.”

So any company or or place that has rules for its employees treats them like children? Really?

Does your place of employment require a starttime? Rules for how to dela with fellow employees?